No Atmos with Firestick 4K Max


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Hi, I’ve just purchased a Sonos Arc but i’m having trouble getting Atmos from Netflix via a Fire Stick 4k Max.

I have a premium Netflix subscription and all settings are at their highest.

I have Sky Q so i’m able to get Atmos from Sky Movies from the Arc so i know that it does work from that source.

Anyone any ideas?

Thanks


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42 replies

Userlevel 7
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My Fire Cube works...

I get the impression that Apple TV may be more reliable!

I may well be 😁 but unless you have an iPhone, you can only access via a browser is my understanding and the reason I’ve not gone for it myself.

Userlevel 5
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Sorry to be a downer…. But I don’t think AppleTV will output Atmos without eARC as it doesn’t encode Atoms via Dolby Digital Plus like Sky Q and FireTV Stick 4K Max does, or didn’t last time I checked.

 

I was trying to get it to work with my Samsung without eARC and could not get it to work. Samsung updated most of their Native Apps to support it, so I give up to be honest.

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My Fire Cube works...

I get the impression that Apple TV may be more reliable!

I may well be 😁 but unless you have an iPhone, you can only access via a browser is my understanding and the reason I’ve not gone for it myself.

Yeah i have an Iphone so I’ll how it goes.

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Sorry to be a downer…. But I don’t think AppleTV will output Atmos without eARC as it doesn’t encode Atoms via Dolby Digital Plus like Sky Q and FireTV Stick 4K Max does, or didn’t last time I checked.

 

I was trying to get it to work with my Samsung without eARC and could not get it to work. Samsung updated most of their Native Apps to support it, so I give up to be honest.

Oh well it’s ordered now but i’ll look into that, thanks!

Userlevel 7

Sorry to be a downer…. But I don’t think AppleTV will output Atmos without eARC as it doesn’t encode Atoms via Dolby Digital Plus like Sky Q and FireTV Stick 4K Max does, or didn’t last time I checked.

 

I was trying to get it to work with my Samsung without eARC and could not get it to work. Samsung updated most of their Native Apps to support it, so I give up to be honest.

Oh well it’s ordered now but i’ll look into that, thanks!

@BMF is correct. Because you have an older model TV without eARC, you will NOT be able to get Dolby Atmos audio from the Apple TV 4K. Consider the Nvidia Shield Pro or the latest Roku Ultra instead.

Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

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Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

So i have an Apple TV 4K coming tomorrow and an HDMI splitter here but still not sure if it’ll all work and how to connect it all.

Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

So i have an Apple TV 4K coming tomorrow and an HDMI splitter here but still not sure if it’ll all work and how to connect it all.

Please look at my diagram in my first post.  As @BMF suggested, I expect that you will need a device similar to the Arcana HDFury (Which I use).

Badge

Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

So i have an Apple TV 4K coming tomorrow and an HDMI splitter here but still not sure if it’ll all work and how to connect it all.

Please look at my diagram in my first post.  As @BMF suggested, I expect that you will need a device similar to the Arcana HDFury (Which I use).

Ok thanks for the advice. Might just start saving for a newer tv.

Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

So i have an Apple TV 4K coming tomorrow and an HDMI splitter here but still not sure if it’ll all work and how to connect it all.

Please look at my diagram in my first post.  As @BMF suggested, I expect that you will need a device similar to the Arcana HDFury (Which I use).

Ok thanks for the advice. Might just start saving for a newer tv.

Man. It does get like that 🤣 I was thinking the same,

pricing up Arcana, switch… cables etc

 

Then figured it was easier to stick with what I have,

also wife would ask less questions ….. mine, not yours 

Badge

Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

So i have an Apple TV 4K coming tomorrow and an HDMI splitter here but still not sure if it’ll all work and how to connect it all.

Please look at my diagram in my first post.  As @BMF suggested, I expect that you will need a device similar to the Arcana HDFury (Which I use).

Ok thanks for the advice. Might just start saving for a newer tv.

Man. It does get like that 🤣 I was thinking the same,

pricing up Arcana, switch… cables etc

 

Then figured it was easier to stick with what I have,

also wife would ask less questions ….. mine, not yours 

That’s funny as i had to sheepishly tell her that i’d ordered an Apple TV 4k (again my wife not yours!) 😂.

Out of interest do movies on Netflix actually say Atmos? ie it’s an indicator that Atmos is available or will it only say 5.1. Prime says atmos and plays Atmos but playing 6 Underground or Don’t Look Up on Netflix just says 5.1.

Userlevel 5
Badge +13

In my experience, the Netflix app will display what it “thinks” it can play on your system.

 

Titles on my Samsung that say Atmos will say 5.1 on Panasonic.

 

Both TV’s are only ARC, not eARC but are both connected to Atmos compatible Sonos sound bars.

 

I think the limiting factor on my Beam Gen 2 is the Panasonic TV

 

But on the Samsung the AppleTV was the limiting factor as the native Samsung Netflix app will play Atmos for the same titles 

Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Not ideal, but would an HDMI switch work before the Arcana?

 

So you could switch between the AppleTV and SkyQ?

 

As I say, not ideal

So i have an Apple TV 4K coming tomorrow and an HDMI splitter here but still not sure if it’ll all work and how to connect it all.

Please look at my diagram in my first post.  As @BMF suggested, I expect that you will need a device similar to the Arcana HDFury (Which I use).

Ok thanks for the advice. Might just start saving for a newer tv.

Man. It does get like that 🤣 I was thinking the same,

pricing up Arcana, switch… cables etc

 

Then figured it was easier to stick with what I have,

also wife would ask less questions ….. mine, not yours 

That’s funny as i had to sheepishly tell her that i’d ordered an Apple TV 4k (again my wife not yours!) 😂.

Out of interest do movies on Netflix actually say Atmos? ie it’s an indicator that Atmos is available or will it only say 5.1. Prime says atmos and plays Atmos but playing 6 Underground or Don’t Look Up on Netflix just says 5.1.

I just search in the Netflix App for Atmos and it  lists all the content with Dolby Atmos, I have to open each film/series otherwise.

Userlevel 1
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This thread is the closest example I have found so far to date that reflects my issue. I have a Sonos Beam (Gen 2), Sub (Gen 2) and 2 x Era 300’s as rear surrounds. My LG TV is a 2015 model (ARC only) so I purchased the HDFury Arcana and a HDMI switch.

I can play Dolby Atmos content all day long from my Blu Ray disc player which is terrific. Atmos is displayed on the Sonos app.

However, for Dolby Atmos titles in Netflix and Prime Video, the best I can get is Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, even though I can see on the Netflix/Prime apps that the films in question are Atmos encoded. Don’t get me wrong, DD+ sounds great but the fact that I can’t play select content in Atmos is driving me mad (only because it’s annoying me that I can’t fix it!). I’ve tried both the native apps on the TV and also the apps on my Sky Q box but no cigar. I’ve played with the audio and scaler setings on the Arcana but still no dice. My TV, Sky Q and streaming app settings are all correct. I was actually thinking of buying a Fire TV stick to see if this was a solution but from reading this thread, it doesn’t appear that this option solves the issue for both streaming services.

I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that the apps (either on Sky Q or those native on the TV) are not going to give me Dolby Atmos. I’ve been trying to fix this for the last week.

Any comments would be most welcome!

Many thanks.

Userlevel 7

This thread is the closest example I have found so far to date that reflects my issue. I have a Sonos Beam (Gen 2), Sub (Gen 2) and 2 x Era 300’s as rear surrounds. My LG TV is a 2015 model (ARC only) so I purchased the HDFury Arcana and a HDMI switch.

I can play Dolby Atmos content all day long from my Blu Ray disc player which is terrific. Atmos is displayed on the Sonos app.

However, for Dolby Atmos titles in Netflix and Prime Video, the best I can get is Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, even though I can see on the Netflix/Prime apps that the films in question are Atmos encoded. Don’t get me wrong, DD+ sounds great but the fact that I can’t play select content in Atmos is driving me mad (only because it’s annoying me that I can’t fix it!). I’ve tried both the native apps on the TV and also the apps on my Sky Q box but no cigar. I’ve played with the audio and scaler setings on the Arcana but still no dice. My TV, Sky Q and streaming app settings are all correct. I was actually thinking of buying a Fire TV stick to see if this was a solution but from reading this thread, it doesn’t appear that this option solves the issue for both streaming services.

I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that the apps (either on Sky Q or those native on the TV) are not going to give me Dolby Atmos. I’ve been trying to fix this for the last week.

Any comments would be most welcome!

Many thanks.

Your TV model is too old to support Dolby Atmos audio from its native apps. Also the Arcana has no affect on the TV’s native apps. It only affects external media devices connected to the Arcana. 

 

The Sky Q box doesn’t support Dolby Atmos audio from the streaming apps either:

“Dolby Atmos is currently available on live Ultra HD broadcasts of English Premier League matches, selected Ultra HD Sky Cinema downloads and at times, selected Box Sets from Sky One and Sky Atlantic (if you have the Sky Signature or Sky Ultimate TV packages).

Dolby Atmos is not available via TV apps on Sky Q, such as Disney+, Netflix etc.”

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/setting-up-dolby-atmos

 

Rather than getting a Fire TV Stick, get an Apple TV 4K, Nvidia Shield, or Roku Ultra. Dolby Atmos is supported on all the major streaming apps on these three devices.

Userlevel 1
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@GuitarSuperstar Perfect!

You’ve confirmed everything brilliantly and thanks also for the recommendations.

At least I can rest easy in the knowledge that I wasn’t missing anything obvious.

Thanks again!

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You do realize Netflix account needs to be upgraded to get 4k streamed w/ Atmos ? I have a 4k max into a Sony 900e and get Atmos  looking at getting an arcana just for my Sony bluray player or for 2 arcanas I could get an earc Sony and be done